Saturday, January 3, 2015

It was 3:30 am on May 18, 1977 when Likud leader Menachem Begin walked into Metzudat Ze'ev, the party's headquarters in central Tel Aviv, in order to deliver the election night victory speech.

"Today is a turning point in the history of the Jewish people and the Zionist Movement, the likes of which we have not known for 46 years," he declared, after shocking the elites and political commentators and winning 43 Knesset seats with the Likud, compared to only 32 Knesset seats gained by the Labor Alignment headed by Shimon Peres.

"We reached this day out of full faith in democracy – aspiring to change things in our country through the ballot, and only through the ballot."

That was Begin – the biggest democrat among Israel's prime ministers in the past four decades, and the modest of them all. He never forgot, not even for a second, that his first commitment was to serve all of Israel's citizens, without making any distinction between secular and religious, Jews and Arabs, his supporters and his opponents.

...Unlike Begin, who managed to appeal to diverse audiences, the list led by Netanyahu marks fixation, obsolescence.

...in the Likud, which for several decades turned to the center of the public stage and aimed to take what we remember as the Liberal Party under its wings, Netanyahu is focusing on only one issue: The settlements. In other words, the Likud has become a party which represents only one sector. No more talking about solving the housing crisis and an equal share of the burden. There is one direction: Judea and Samaria.

...we'll reach the conclusion that the current prime minister failed to hold on to proven talents and offer them a place in his garden.

...Even if we agree that these are different times, the comparison to Begin's strong Likud is inevitable.

I remember the excitement in the audience which gathered at Metzudat Ze'ev that night in 1977, when Begin asked his wife Aliza to join him on the podium for the victory moment.

"I remember the devotion of your youth, your love for me as a bride, how you followed me into the wilderness, through a land sown with mines," he said in a paraphrase of a famous verse from the Book of Jeremiah.

It wasn't "come on, Sara" and "the first lady." They stood there without hair designers, without royalty etiquette from other places – a couple which really walked the entire way, made the entire journey, together.

But even more than that, Begin taught us that a leader must take responsibility for his moves, both for his successes and for his failures. That's another thing we can only yearn for.

It was 3:30 am on May 18, 1977 when Likud leader Menachem Begin walked into Metzudat Ze'ev, the party's headquarters in central Tel Aviv, in order to deliver the election night victory speech.

"Today is a turning point in the history of the Jewish people and the Zionist Movement, the likes of which we have not known for 46 years," he declared, after shocking the elites and political commentators and winning 43 Knesset seats with the Likud, compared to only 32 Knesset seats gained by the Labor Alignment headed by Shimon Peres.

"We reached this day out of full faith in democracy – aspiring to change things in our country through the ballot, and only through the ballot."

That was Begin – the biggest democrat among Israel's prime ministers in the past four decades, and the modest of them all. He never forgot, not even for a second, that his first commitment was to serve all of Israel's citizens, without making any distinction between secular and religious, Jews and Arabs, his supporters and his opponents.

...Unlike Begin, who managed to appeal to diverse audiences, the list led by Netanyahu marks fixation, obsolescence.

...in the Likud, which for several decades turned to the center of the public stage and aimed to take what we remember as the Liberal Party under its wings, Netanyahu is focusing on only one issue: The settlements. In other words, the Likud has become a party which represents only one sector. No more talking about solving the housing crisis and an equal share of the burden. There is one direction: Judea and Samaria.

...we'll reach the conclusion that the current prime minister failed to hold on to proven talents and offer them a place in his garden.

...Even if we agree that these are different times, the comparison to Begin's strong Likud is inevitable.

I remember the excitement in the audience which gathered at Metzudat Ze'ev that night in 1977, when Begin asked his wife Aliza to join him on the podium for the victory moment.

"I remember the devotion of your youth, your love for me as a bride, how you followed me into the wilderness, through a land sown with mines," he said in a paraphrase of a famous verse from the Book of Jeremiah.

It wasn't "come on, Sara" and "the first lady." They stood there without hair designers, without royalty etiquette from other places – a couple which really walked the entire way, made the entire journey, together.

But even more than that, Begin taught us that a leader must take responsibility for his moves, both for his successes and for his failures. That's another thing we can only yearn for.

About Me

American born, my wife and I moved to Israel in 1970. We have lived at Shiloh together with our family since 1981. I was in the Betar youth movement in the US and UK. I have worked as a political aide to Members of Knesset and a Minister during 1981-1994, lectured at the Academy for National Studies 1977-1994, was director of Israel's Media Watch 1995-2000 and currently, I work at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem. I was a guest media columnist on media affairs for The Jerusalem Post, op-ed contributor to various journals and for six years had a weekly media show on Arutz 7 radio. I serve as an unofficial spokesperson for the Jewish Communities in Judea & Samaria.